São Paulo defender’s agent seeks amicable contract termination | OneFootball

The agents of center-back Matheus Belém, 22 years old, are trying a last-ditch effort at the end of this year to get the player back on the field. But it would be outside São Paulo, where he has not officially been listed for a match since April of last year and is currently training separately from the squad.

Yes, the player developed in Cotia is still part of Tricolor’s professional roster. But he hasn’t played in a match for a very, very long time (read more below).

Belém has been training at different times from the rest of the squad and is not part of the club’s plans. With a contract until the end of next year, his staff’s goal is to secure a friendly contract termination. This would make it easier to find a new destination for him in football.

Sources consulted by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR indicate that despite the defender’s situation—completely sidelined and recently venting on his social media—the atmosphere with the board is calm. There is an inclination, even as a cost-cutting measure, for the board to accept the request.

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

One of the blessings of living in times of widespread digital inclusion is having abundant audiovisual material at our disposal, allowing us above all to immortalize memories and have historical documentary proof of events or occurrences.

Football fits into this folklore: games, plays, goals, and especially players from the last century who were lost due to technological limitations in image recording. What remain are written or oral accounts, which over time and generations create more feelings of doubt and amusement than actually fulfilling their historical documentary function.

One of the cases from these new times that would certainly become a story worthy of a truly archaeological effort by competent and effective São Paulo historians and researchers is that of defender Matheus Belém. If it weren’t for the era of social media and digital photos, it would be hard to prove that he actually played professionally for the Morumbi club.

And for good reason. A product of Tricolor’s youth academy, Belém hasn’t played football for almost two years. Mind you, not just professionally for São Paulo Futebol Clube, but for ANY team.

Matheus Belém has been training separately from the São Paulo squad since mid-April, when he was returned from his loan to Chapecoense, which had been formalized at the start of the year and was supposed to last until December, but was suddenly ended due to a successful overhaul by the Santa Catarina club, now a favorite for promotion in Série B, but at the time winless in the competition and facing turmoil behind the scenes. There, the young defender sat on the bench for three matches but did not play.

Internally, the Belém case is a mystery. Promoted to the first team by Rogério Ceni at the end of 2022, he received the same treatment as Beraldo: he would train for a year at Barra Funda while simultaneously playing in Cotia to gain experience. Both, in fact, had similarities pointed out, as they are left-footed.

A stroke of luck similar to what is happening now—when there was a shortage of defenders in the squad—allowed Belém to skip a few steps the following year. He made his debut right in the classic against Santos, on February 12, in the Paulista Championship, coming on during the match after Alan Franco was injured.

While Beraldo established himself in the starting lineup with the arrival of Dorival Júnior, Belém continued with the previously outlined schedule of training with the professionals and playing for the under-20s. He would reappear for the team against Bragantino in the Brasileirão on July 9, when the reserves were fielded between the clashes with rivals Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals. He got his golden opportunity against América-MG on August 6, when once again injuries and absences led to his inclusion. That was the last time he played in the professional category in his career.

The good impression he left under pressure excited the fans and created a dilemma, as Belém’s contract with Tricolor was set to expire at the end of 2023. The player even verbally agreed to a pre-contract with Bragantino, which required behind-the-scenes work by the board with the interior club to reverse the situation and created some internal friction. The defender stayed. The regret did too.

Now with a contract until the end of 2026, Belém has officially become the last option for the position. He still had some standing with Thiago Carpini, spending eight games on the bench with the former coach in the first half of 2024, but as soon as Luis Zubeldía arrived, his appearances vanished, leaving only images from training sessions captured by the club’s press office.

His departure was seen as a certainty. And it did happen. But the lack of opportunities in Santa Catarina highlighted that Belém’s development may not have gone as hoped.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.